How much has 2023 US Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton earned in his professional tennis career?
20-year-old Shelton will face 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the last four at Flushing Meadows.
The revelation of the 2023 US Open has undoubtedly been American youngster Ben Shelton. The 20 year-old defeated compatriot Frances Tiafoe in four sets in the quarter-finals at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday to set up semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic. Nobody will be expecting Shelton to defeat the 23-time Grand Slam winner, but then who thought he would make it this far?
What was Shelton’s previous best performance?
It’s been quite the breakthrough for the left-hander, who made his ATP debut at the Atlanta Open in July 2022 and turned professional just a couple of weeks later after a run to the third round of the Cincinnati Masters, which remains his best performance in an ATP Masters event. In 2023, he has failed to get past the second round in any of them, yet he did show glimpses of what he was capable of in January’s Australian Open, where he reached the last eight before losing to fellow American Tommy Paul.
Ben Shelton becomes the youngest American male to reach the #USOpen semifinals since 1992‼️ pic.twitter.com/ISm25NOMWm
— ESPN (@espn) September 6, 2023
Big Australian Open pay check
That run at Melbourne Park earned him $372,956, the biggest pay check of his young professional career so far, and more than a quarter of the $1,425,487 he has earned in singles and doubles competition combined. However, Shelton will go - at least - one better in New York this week and will be handsomely rewarded as a result.
How much will Shelton earn at the 2023 US Open?
The two losing semi-finalists will pick up a cool $775,000, more than half of what Shelton has earned in his career so far. By the end of the week, the Georgia native will break the $2 million mark in career earnings, although he still has some way to go to catch Djokovic, whose $172,281,484 earned is more than any other player in tennis history.
The beaten finalist at the US Open will take home $1.5 million, with the winner pocketing $3 million. Don’t write Shelton off just yet.